"This is a recipe for Chocolate Pecan Angel Food Cake. My mother, who was born in 1910, made this cake for my birthdays in the 1950s and early 1960s. It was my favorite cake when I was growing up. She contributed the recipe to a ladies’ aide church group cookbook."—Janet Reid, Upland, Calif.

Ingredients

Cake:

1 1/2cups egg whites (about 12 eggs)

2teaspoons cream of tartar

2tablespoons water

1teaspoon vanilla extract

1teaspoon almond extract

1 7/8cups sugar (2 cups less 2 tablespoons)

1cup cake flour

1/4teaspoon salt

1/2cup cocoa

1cup chopped pecans

Chocolate Icing:

1/2cup (1 stick) butter

3/4cup sifted powdered sugar

2pasteurized egg yolks

2 1/2ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled

2pasteurized egg whites, stiffly beaten

Toasted, salted pecan halves

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400F.

To prepare the cake, beat egg whites until frothy; sprinkle cream of tartar over top and continue beating until whites are stiff enough to form peaks but not dry. Gradually add water and vanilla and almond extracts. Fold in half the sugar, sifting 2 tablespoons at a time over the surface.

Sift cake flour before measuring, then sift again with salt, cocoa and remaining sugar. Gently fold dry ingredients into egg white mixture, about 1/4 cup at a time. Fold in pecans.

To prepared the icing, combine butter and sugar in a mixing bowl. Beat with a mixture at medium-high speed until creamy. Add egg yolks and chocolate, blending well. Fold in beaten egg whites. Frost cake and garnish with pecans. Chill in refrigerator.

Testers’ notes: We recommend using pasteurized eggs in the icing, as it is not cooked. This is as really nice, super moist cake.